But even that lead time would not necessarily have persuaded Ernst Kiesling to try to race out of harm's way.

"It's a tough question," said Kiesling, a civil engineering professor at Texas Tech University who has spent his life studying tornadoes and developing above-ground storm shelters to protect against them.

"My advice would be to seek the safest place available. That is: lie in a ditch or ... (get) behind a heavy object if you had a tractor or even a tree."

He cited the 1979 Wichita Falls, Texas, tornado as a cautionary lesson. That twister killed 54 people and, Kiesling noted, "many people were killed in automobiles because they tried to outrun it."

Still, Kiesling allowed, there may be times when fleeing an impending tornado might be a good option.

"If you have good information on the storm, if you have plenty of warning, if you have an automobile, it may make sense, but I personally don't feel that's the advice that we want to give the public."

A better answer, he said, would be to plan. "I think there is today a storm shelter or solution for just about every situation, so I would urge people to consider procuring a storm shelter for their home."

The options for shelters are many: above-ground, below-ground, mounted in the garage, on the patio, on a poured slab or even in a space carved out beneath the slab.

Ed Bates said he includes provisions for storm shelters in the buildings he designs, but sometimes it's a tough sell.

"It's just disgraceful for me to see how many schools in Oklahoma continue to get built with all the priority on athletic facilities," the architect said. "They don't seize the opportunity to protect from a very imminent danger in this area."

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Left to right, Jaqi Castro, Angelica Morris-Smith and Cetoria Petties walk through a tornado ravaged neighborhood handing out supplies to residents and fellow volunteers on May 27.

Hide Caption

2 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents gather in the First Baptist Church for the Oklahoma Strong memorial service on Sunday, May 26, to honor victims of the recent deadly tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.

Hide Caption

3 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Preschooler Keltin Marazzi, front center, stands on stage with other school children during the memorial service.

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tornado victims Christa and Russell Smith hug their children, Evan and Justin Smith, as the service takes place.

Hide Caption

6 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Plaza Towers Elementary School teacher Jennifer Doan is comforted by her fiance, Nyle Rogers, on May 26.

Hide Caption

7 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – President Barack Obama is greeted as he tours the tornado-ravaged area near Moore, Oklahoma, on Sunday, May 26.

Hide Caption

8 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers bow their heads in reverence on Saturday, May 25, in front of a memorial at the Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children died during the devastating tornado, in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20.

Hide Caption

9 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Mike Hitch prepares to pull a classic Corvette from under the debris of a home destroyed by Monday's tornado on May 25.

Hide Caption

10 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Mike Hitch loads a salvaged Corvette pulled from the rubble onto a tow truck in Moore on May 25.

Hide Caption

11 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Eunice Lassiter sits in the driveway of a friend's tornado-damaged home on May 25 in Moore.

Hide Caption

12 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A volunteer signs a cross on May 25 at a makeshift memorial outside of the destroyed Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children were killed in Monday's tornado in Moore.

Hide Caption

13 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers unload donated items for tornado victims at the Yellow Rose Theater on May 25 in Moore.

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Eddie Jones of the Christian Life Center in Rolla, Missouri, cooks for residents and volunteers helping with tornado relief on May 25 in Moore.

Hide Caption

16 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Carol Kawaykla holds a picture of her mother she found in the rubble of her tornado-devastated home in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 24.

Hide Caption

17 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – The sun sets over debris from houses littering the ground in Moore, Oklahoma, on Thursday, May 23, three days after the town was damaged by a tornado.

Hide Caption

18 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris is scattered across a driveway on May 23. Severe thunderstorms barreled through this Oklahoma City suburb at dawn Thursday, complicating cleanup efforts.

Hide Caption

19 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Lightning strikes during a thunderstorm as people search for items that can be saved from their devastated home on May 23.

Hide Caption

20 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A devastated neighborhood is seen on May 23 in Moore.

Hide Caption

21 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman searches for belongings at a home on May 22 in Moore.

Hide Caption

22 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Michael Pritz swings a golf club while taking a break from helping his friend to salvage belongings on May 22.

Hide Caption

23 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris litters what remains of a classroom at Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22. Seven children died at the school in Monday's tornado.

Hide Caption

24 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A makeshift shelter stands next to a home destroyed by the tornado on May 22.

Hide Caption

25 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Casey Angle walks on the bunk bed she shared with her sister Sydney, who was among the students killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School during the tornado.

Hide Caption

26 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tara McDonald shows some items salvaged from her home on May 22.

Hide Caption

27 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A swing set sits warped at Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22.

Hide Caption

28 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Plaza Towers Elementary School students Monica Boyd and Lavontey Rodriguez sit at the parking lot of their tornado devastated school.

Hide Caption

29 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Travis French and his wife, Amy, of Capitol Hill Baptist Church hand out fresh fruit, water and hygiene packs to Thomas and Kelcy Trowbridge.

Hide Caption

30 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers from Fairview Elementary School help clean up former school counselor Kay Taylor's home in south Oklahoma City on May 22, two days after an extremely powerful tornado tore through Moore, Oklahoma.

Hide Caption

31 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jake English, 12, cleans up retired school counselor Kay Taylor's home on May 22 in south Oklahoma City, just west of Moore. The storm was part of a tornado outbreak that began in the Midwest and Plains on Sunday, May 19.

Hide Caption

32 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man talks on his cell phone in front of a destroyed house on May 22.

Hide Caption

33 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man looks through a pile of clothing at a roadside relief camp on May 22 in Moore.

Hide Caption

34 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers form a chain to retrieve clothing and other household items on May 22.

Hide Caption

35 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jon Booth moves a piece of debris from his mother's destroyed home across the street from Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22.

Hide Caption

36 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Matt Johnson salvages items from his grandparents' home on Tuesday, May 21.

Hide Caption

37 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – An aerial view of the destruction on May 21.

Hide Caption

38 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – The storm, which touched down near Newcastle, Oklahoma, spanned 1.3 miles. Some areas along the path were completely flattened.

Hide Caption

39 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Two men fold an American flag found in the debris of a house on May 21 in Moore.

Hide Caption

40 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A young girl stands among the rubble outside Briarwood Elementary School on May 21.

Hide Caption

41 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A doll covered in dirt is among the rubble scattered throughout a neighborhood in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

42 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Bonnie Lolofie, left, and Ashley Do carry belongings from their apartment, which has no power, on May 21.

Hide Caption

43 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents salvage belongings from their demolished homes in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

44 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Kelli Kannady weeps after finding a box of photographs of her late husband in the rubble near where her home once stood in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

45 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tufts of pink insulation hang from the rafters of a store in Moore on May 21 that was destroyed in the storm.

Hide Caption

46 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Natalie Johnson searches through her mother's destroyed car outside Briarwood Elementary School in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

47 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Rescuers dig out a house in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

48 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – June Simson embraces her cat Sammi after she found him standing among the rubble of her destroyed home in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

49 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man stands on the roof of a destroyed home in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

50 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man helps move a resident's belongings from a destroyed home on May 21 in Moore.

Hide Caption

51 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Air Force Airman First Class Justin Acord sifts through the rubble of his father-in-law's home in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

52 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People recover belongings from the rubble of a home in Moore.

Hide Caption

53 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People sort through a leveled home in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

54 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris lies among headstones in the Moore Cemetery on May 21.

Hide Caption

55 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Workers clean up the Warren movie theater in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

56 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett surveys damage in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

57 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Piles of debris lie around the north side of Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

58 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – As dawn breaks, storm clouds roll in over a devastated neighborhood in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

59 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Members of the Oklahoma National Guard look for survivors in rubble in Moore on May 21.

Hide Caption

60 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A National Guardsman assists in the search for victims on May 21.

Hide Caption

61 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A rescue worker leads a horse from the wreckage of a day care center and barns on Monday, May 20, in Moore.

Hide Caption

62 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Men tie an American flag on debris in a neighborhood off Telephone Road in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

63 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Children wait for their parents to arrive at Briarwood Elementary School in south Oklahoma City on May 20.

Hide Caption

64 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary School on May 20.

Hide Caption

65 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers lead children away from Briarwood Elementary School on May 20. Read more about the photo.

Hide Caption

66 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A fire official drives through the rubble of Moore Medical Center on May 20.

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is treated for her injuries on May 20 at a triage area set up for the wounded.

Hide Caption

69 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Two girls stand in rubble in Moore.

Hide Caption

70 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Rescue workers help free one of more than a dozen people who were trapped at a medical center in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

71 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma City firefighters check on Gene Tripp on May 20 as he sits in his rocking chair where his home once stood.

Hide Caption

72 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A nurse helps an older man who suffered a head injury on May 20 in Moore.

Hide Caption

73 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Cars marked with an orange X, meaning they have been checked for occupants, are piled up in front of the entrance to the damaged Moore Medical Center on May 20.

Hide Caption

74 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jim Routon hugs his neighbor, 7-year-old Hezekiah, after the tornado strikes on May 20. An earlier version of this caption incorrectly stated that Routon was Hezekiah's teacher. See an interview with the pair.

Hide Caption

75 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People look through the wreckage of their neighborhood after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20.

Hide Caption

76 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Dana Ulepich searches inside a room left standing at the back of her destroyed house in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

77 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents look through the debris in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

78 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man looks through the remains of a home after the massive tornado struck Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

79 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is transported on a stretcher after she was rescued from the damaged medical center in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

80 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman walks through debris in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

81 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man is taken away from the IMAX Theater in Moore that was used as a triage center on May 20.

Hide Caption

82 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A girl wraps herself in a blanket near the Moore Hospital on May 20.

Hide Caption

83 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A nurse walks by the destruction at a Moore hospital on May 20.

Hide Caption

84 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Destroyed cars scatter the landscape in Moore, Oklahoma, where hundreds of homes and buildings were put to ruin on May 20.

Hide Caption

85 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman with an arm injury is helped on May 20 in Moore.

Hide Caption

86 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Extensive damage from the tornado destroyed cars and demolished structures in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

87 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Onlookers stop to view a portion of the destruction left behind on May 20 in Moore.

Hide Caption

88 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Overturned cars are among the rubble from the tornado that hit Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

89 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is comforted after the May 20 tornado in Moore.

Hide Caption

90 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A shredded tree stands amid debris in the aftermath of the storm in Moore on May 20.

Hide Caption

91 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A shopping center parking lot is covered with debris and damaged cars on May 20.

Hide Caption

92 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Law enforcement officers block a roadway in Moore where there was extensive damage from the tornado.

Hide Caption

93 of 94

Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma94 photos

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A massive tornado approaches Moore on May 20. The storm first touched down to the west of the city near Newcastle, Oklahoma. Visit CNN.com/impact for ways to help the victims.

Hide Caption

94 of 94

EXPAND GALLERY

That was not the case at Northeastern State University in Tulsa, where his proposals were welcomed. "We were able to build honest-to-goodness tornado vaults, concrete vaults, as double-purpose classrooms," he said.

Inside the shelter's blast-resistant doors is ample space to accommodate the school's thousands of students and staff members, he said. Its value was driven home soon after it was completed, when a tornado struck nearby, causing damage, he said.

"I went out there to the campus about three days later, and three of the lady professors just ran up and hugged me and said, 'Mr. Bates, we just want to thank you,'" he said. "They said, 'What a peace of mind!' "

Teachers at schools without shelters can find themselves in untenable positions, he said. "A tornado gets announced, and then the teachers have no choice but to stay right there until every one of the parents of those children arrive," he said. "That's not the way it ought to be."

The fact that seven students at Plaza Towers Elementary School were among the dead has given momentum to advocates for shelters in schools. Plaza Towers had neither a basement nor a shelter, and neither did Briarwood Elementary, which was also destroyed, although there were no fatalities there.

The schools that were rebuilt in Moore after a tornado in 1999 do have storm shelters, he said. That one, too, was an EF5, the most powerful category of storm. Such tornadoes represent a tiny fraction -- about one-tenth of a percent -- of all tornadoes, according to FEMA.

Most of the schools in Oklahoma don't have a shelter because of the cost, Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis told CNN. But he predicted that will change.

"There should be a place that, if this ever happened again during school, that kids can get to a safe place," said Mikki Dixon Davis, whose 8-year-old son, Kyle, died at Plaza Towers.

Getting a 'Fraidy Hole'

Just Watched

Moore superintendent on storm shelters

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, said it was not clear Kyle would have survived even if he had had access to a shelter. "Some of the shelters that were utilized collapsed or were destroyed by the tornado," he said.

"We'll never replace her child or fill that void in her heart, and we ought to do what we can do to prevent this kind of result, but there's only so much we can do. We put 200 shelters in in the last four, five years in Oklahoma in schools, so it's not like the state hasn't been making an effort."

As the debate continues over whether to invest in storm shelters, here are a few tips that experts say everyone should follow:

--Don't ignore those warnings

There's a saying in Oklahoma: If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes. The skies can change fast and that makes it hard for weather forecasters to predict the weather.

But whether you're in Oklahoma or anywhere else, don't dismiss tornado watches and warnings just because the forecaster got last week's predictions wrong.

And don't fall victim to thinking a tornado can't happen in your neighborhood.

"Time and fading memories are the worst enemies," said Chapman-Henderson. "People think it can't happen twice, but in the case of Moore, Oklahoma, the tragedy here is this is the third strike -- 1999 to 2003."

Tornadoes can sometimes form so quickly that little, if any, warning is possible, according to FEMA.

As Monday's tornado approached, football players at Southmoore High School were getting ready for practice. The coach rounded up the players and ordered them to put on their helmets, he told Fox Sports Southwest

The tornado just missed the school.

It's an important lesson: Protect your head. A 200 mph gust of wind can turn a stick into a lethal weapon, something even a $10 bicycle helmet might protect against.

There's a good chance that if a tornado approaches, you might not be near a storm shelter or a basement or your emergency kit, so it's important to use what you have at the time of the impact to increase your survival chances.